


Gambling with the Moon

by rhosyn_du



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Community: stagesoflove, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-10
Updated: 2006-11-09
Packaged: 2017-10-22 16:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhosyn_du/pseuds/rhosyn_du
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seeing Through Appearances

**Author's Note:**

> A series of five drabbles written for the stagesoflove community on LiveJournal.

Koumyou Sanzo was the sort of man it was impossible to dislike.

He walked with an unhurried stride, spoke without the slightest trace of anger or frustration. It seemed patience came as naturally to him as breathing.

He wore his robes slightly wrinkled, and his hair looked to have only passing acquaintance with a comb. His sandals were often buckled crooked and occasionally missing altogether.

The corners of his mouth curved perpetually upward in the peaceful smile of the genuinely serene, and his soft laughter carried palpable mirth.

He was the very embodiment of content.

Kenyuu hated him on sight.


	2. Continual Awareness

Ukoku dropped the box onto Koumyou’s lap in a gesture of studied nonchalance before settling on the stoop.

“You were running low last time I saw you. I happened to run into a merchant who sold it, so I thought I’d save you the trouble of getting it yourself.”

“You must be getting old if you’re saving trouble instead of causing it.”

“By that logic, you should be far past causing trouble at your age.”

Koumyou pulled a single orange square from the box. “Ah,” he said, folding the paper with deft fingers. “I suppose that can’t be it, then.”


	3. Transmuting the Passions

“'Of all the lusts and desires, there is none so powerful as sexual inclination. This is so strong that there is no other worth speaking of beyond it.'”*

“I believe that was meant as a warning rather than an endorsement.”

“There are benefits to being a heretic.” Ukoku smirked. A challenge.

“Oh?” It wasn't an answer, but neither was it an objection, and, really, that was close enough.

It wasn't until later, lying sweaty and sated on a bed that proved far too firm to prevent bruising, that Ukoku began to wonder if this had really been _his_ idea.

*Sutra of the 42 Sections, Beal's Catena


	4. A Mind That Lets Go

The order he gave was simple: steal the Maten and Seiten scriptures; kill the man who carried them.

 _"It's all about winning, and making food out of someone else's corpse."_

Patience was a skill he'd long since mastered, yet he found himself distracted in the days following. He put it down to too little caffeine and vowed to drink more coffee.

 _"You have to keep feeding off of other people in order to live."_

Which is how he found himself in his lab, tracing the cracks in his mug with restless fingers.

 _"So you can eventually be eaten yourself?"_

Waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quoted lines are taken from the first chapter of the Burial arc.


	5. Emptiness of Everything

All in all, death was quite unlike what Ukoku was expecting.

For one thing, the afterlife bore a striking resemblance to the gardens outside Kinzan temple.

"I was beginning to wonder if you ever planned on showing up."

For another, the hand that reached down to help him to his feet was both solid and warm.

Ukoku wondered suddenly if other things would still be the same: if Koumyou's hair would smell faintly of incense and pipe smoke, if his mouth would have the sour/sweet taste of cheap sake.

He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Best two out of three?"


End file.
